Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country is a game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System released in 1994. It is known for being the first game to use pre-rendered sprites, creating a 3D effect throughout the game. It is the first game in the Donkey Kong Country series and has four sequels: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. It also has a similar semi-sequel, titled Donkey Kong Land, and a rare competition variant. The game stars Donkey Kong, along with his buddy Diddy Kong, in his debut, as the two travel across Donkey Kong Island in search for the Banana Hoard. The game was remade for the Game Boy Color in 2000 and was also remade again for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. The two remakes feature some new Bonus Games, the ability to save in the overworld, and several other new elements. Donkey Kong Country was also released on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2006 and 2007, the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2014, and on the North American New Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console on March 24, 2016.5 The trilogy was delisted from the Wii Virtual Console in November 2012 for unknown reasons until it was re-released again in Europe and Australia on October 30, 2014. Storyline During a stormy night on Donkey Kong Island, Diddy Kong is told by Donkey Kong to guard his Banana Hoard for his "hero training" until midnight, when Donkey Kong will take over. While watching for predators beneath the darkness, that young monkey becomes attacked by a Krusha. The villain traps the monkey inside a DK Barrel and steals the Banana Hoard along with the other Kremlings, dropping a fruit trail on the way. Next morning, a loud calling of his name wakes Donkey Kong. Realizing that he has slept through his watch, the big ape quickly exits his tree house, only to find Cranky Kong, who tells him hints about the Kremlings stealing the hoard. Donkey Kong soon realizes that both his Banana Hoard and Diddy Kong are missing and sets out to find them. After finding Diddy in a barrel, both Donkey and Diddy head out to find the stolen Banana Hoard. On their travels, the two heroes tread through deep jungles, mines, forests, temples, snowy mountains, caves, and several other regions of the island, fighting many enemies and bosses on the way. With assistance from Cranky Kong, Campbell Kong, Funky Kong, and Candy Kong, the monkeys eventually reach a large ship known as the Gangplank Galleon, where they meet the Kremling Krew's leader, King K. Rool. The Kongs soon "defeat" the foe, only to find the king to get back up and fight with a new set of attacks. However, the duo manages to bring him down a second time, this time defeating the crocodile once and for all. After King K. Rool's defeat, Cranky Kong congratulates the heroes, who then tells them to check the Banana Hoard. They do so, finding that the bananas have been returned. In the Game Boy Advance remake of the game, a short cutscene is seen at the beginning of the game when DK's bananas are stolen and after King K. Rool's defeat, where Cranky, Funky, and Candy Kong congratulate the apes on their victory. King K. Rool soon recovers and forces them off the ship, sailing away. Gameplay The game introduces the "tag-team" system, where Diddy and Donkey Kong follow each other throughout each level. However, the monkey in the front of the group is the Kong in play, so the other Kong simply follows behind the other. If the hero in play is injured, he quickly runs off the screen, and the Kong behind him takes his place as the character in play. In cases like this, only one Kong is on the screen at the time, as the other is defeated. If the lone Kong is injured by an enemy, the player loses an extra life and must restart the level from the beginning or by the Star Barrel. Fortunately, any Kong that is missing can be recovered by breaking open a DK Barrel; however, these special barrels do not appear many times in most levels. When a hero is freed from a DK Barrel, he heads to the back of the group behind the Kong in play and is not able to be controlled until the Kong in the lead is injured or if the player hits A Button to switch characters. Then Donkey Kong hi-fives with Diddy and switches places, or vice versa. Only one Kong appears on the screen at a time in the Game Boy Color version of the game, and a DK Barrel appears at the corner of the screen instead when there is more than one Kong in the group. Also, the Kongs do not run off the screen in the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance remakes as they rather fall off the screen. Kong Abilities While both Kongs have different abilities, they have the same basic moves. Both Donkey and Diddy are able to jump, cartwheel (or roll), climb, and swim to pass through levels. The most commonly used basic abilities are the jump and cartwheel moves, which help the heroes cross gaps and defeat enemies. While cartwheeling is often used to pummel into weaker foes, it can also be used as part of the super-jump technique. Both characters can use this move by simply cartwheeling off a cliff and jumping in mid-air. This gives them both a longer jump to cross wider abysses. Other than jumping and cartwheeling, the Kongs can also use their climbing and swimming abilities to traverse levels. Climbing can only be done on ropes, which can swing the primates over gaps if they cling onto them. Some ropes are stationary, which means that the Kongs can take advantage of their climbing abilities on them to head up the rope to a higher area. Another move both Kongs can perform is their swimming ability which can only be done inside of the water in the underwater levels. Both Kongs also have some different abilities, as well as different stats. Diddy is faster and more agile than Donkey Kong; however, he is not as strong as him and has difficulty defeating stronger enemies such as Krushas and Klumps. Donkey Kong is stronger and slower than him, and he also has his own unique move called Hand Slap. The Hand Slap move allows him to defeat enemies and find hidden objects in the ground or on treetops. Another difference between the two Kongs is how they pick up and throw barrels. When Diddy Kong picks up barrels, he holds them in front of his body, protecting him from any enemies in his way. However, Donkey Kong holds barrels above his head, leaving his whole body vulnerable to enemy attacks. Additionally, Donkey Kong throws his barrels slightly further than Diddy, making Donkey Kong more likely to hit enemies from another distance. If the primates throw a Steel Keg against a wall, they are able to jump on the barrel as it rolls back and balance on it. Special Areas The other members of the Kong Family clan in these special areas which assist Donkey and Diddy while they are adventuring. *Cranky's Cabin: This area is run by Cranky Kong, who the heroes meet here to hear him talking about some random hints and random rambling about how the 8-bit era was better than the 16-bit era. There is one Cranky's Cabin in every world. *Campbell Kong's Treehouse: This area is run by Campbell Kong. The Kongs can travel here in any world to answer the Question of the Quiz so he can give theme a Balloon. *Candy's Save Point: This area is run by Candy Kong. The Kongs can travel here in any world to save their game for free. In the Game Boy Color remake, this area is replaced by Candy's Challenge where the monkeys have to go through a Bonus Level and collect a golden coin. In the Game Boy Advance remake of the game, the area is replaced by Candy's Dance Studio, where Candy hosts a dance mini-game, which can be won to earn collectibles. *Funky's Flights: In this special area, the Kongs can meet Funky Kong and use his Jumbo Barrel to travel to any unlocked world. In the Game Boy Advance remakes, the area is replaced by Funky's Fishing, where Funky hosts a fishing mini-game along with having the Jumbo Barrel. In the game, the Kongs must catch fish while riding on Enguarde to win prizes. Gallery Trivia *Although the Gnawties seen in-game are gray, the Gnawty on the game's boxart is blue. The species eventually became blue in Donkey Kong 64 and in the Game Boy Advance port of Donkey Kong Country. *This game has an adaptation in the Super Mario-Kun manga with some changes. Mario and Yoshi land in the Donkey Kong Country by mistake, and Cranky Kong asks to them help Donkey and Diddy in their task to find the bananas and stop King K. Rool. *The Game Boy Advance remake of the game is the only one of the three Donkey Kong Country remakes that does not feature any new bosses. Category:Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Category:1994 video games Category:2000 video games Category:2003 video games Category:Game Boy Advance games Category:Game Boy Color games Category:Donkey Kong series